Fuseload architecture for system-on-chip reconfiguration and repurposing

ABSTRACT

Methods, systems, and devices that support fuseload architectures for system-on-chip (SoC) reconfiguration and repurposing are described. Trim data may be loaded from fuses to registers on a die based on a fuse header. For example, a set of registers coupled with a set of fuses on the die may be identified, where the set of fuses may store trim data to be copied to the registers as part of a fuseload procedure. In such cases, one or more fuse headers may be identified within the trim data, and each fuse header may correspond to a fuse group that includes a subset of fuses. Based on one or more subfields within a fuse header, a mapping between fuse addresses and register addresses may be determined, and the trim data from each fuse group may be copied into a set of registers based on the mapping.

CROSS REFERENCE

The present Application for Patent is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/102,050 by Pinilla Pico et al., entitled“FUSELOAD ARCHITECTURE FOR SYSTEM-ON-CHIP RECONFIGURATION ANDREPURPOSING,” filed Aug. 13, 2018, assigned to the assignee hereof, andis expressly incorporated by reference in its entirety herein.

BACKGROUND

The following relates generally to system-on-chip (SoC) architecturesand more specifically to a fuseload architecture for SoC reconfigurationand repurposing.

Some electrical devices (e.g., integrated circuits) may include variouscomponents of a computing hierarchy on a single chip. Such devices maybe referred to as an SoC and may include, for example, a centralprocessing unit (CPU) or processor, memory, controllers, input/output(I/O) interfaces, software, etc., integrated onto a single substrate ordie. Although such devices may sometimes be complex due to theintegration of various embedded components, software, and cores, an SoCmay have a small form factor and may generally consume less power thanother types of integrated circuits. Accordingly, SoCs may be utilized ina wide range of applications including medical devices (such as bloodpressure monitoring devices), Internet of Things (IoT) devices (such assmart meters, smart locks, etc.), and personal electronics (such asmobile phones, tablets, smartwatches, etc.).

In some cases, the functionality of an SoC may be achieved by loadingdata that defines one or more settings of the SoC design, which may bestored on the chip and loaded upon a boot or reboot event. As anexample, an SoC may utilize a set of “fuses” that store settings (e.g.,“trims”) related to the specification and/or requirements of an SoCdesign. The trims may be loaded to registers on the chip to provide adesired functionality, where the loading of trims from fuses (e.g., a“fuseload”) may be performed using a pre-defined one-to-one mapping offuse addresses to register addresses. Such pre-defined one-to-onemappings, however, may inhibit repurposing and reconfiguration of an SoCand limit the flexibility to load different fuses for different SoCconfigurations. Improved SoC designs are desired.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a system-on-chip (SoC) architecturethat supports a fuseload architecture for SoC reconfiguration andrepurposing in accordance with examples of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a fuse header configuration thatsupports a fuseload architecture for SoC reconfiguration and repurposingin accordance with examples of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a fuse group configuration thatsupports a fuseload architecture for SoC reconfiguration and repurposingin accordance with examples of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of fuse groups that support a fuseloadarchitecture for SoC reconfiguration and repurposing in accordance withexamples of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a flowchart that supports a fuseloadarchitecture for SoC reconfiguration and repurposing in accordance withexamples of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates block diagram of a controller that supports fuseloadarchitecture for SoC reconfiguration and repurposing in accordance withexamples of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate examples of a method or methods that support afuseload architecture for SoC reconfiguration and repurposing inaccordance with examples of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A system-on-chip (SoC) may comprise an integrated circuit that combinesmultiple stand-alone components on a single die. For instance, an SoCmay be designed with sets of components (including one or more processorcores, memory blocks, caches, interfaces, and so forth) with varyingdegrees of complexity that serve various embedded applications. As such,an SoC may include multiple integrated circuits for differentoperations, devices, and products. In some cases, particular settings(e.g., “trims”) that are related to the specification and/orrequirements for an SoC design may be loaded within the SoC, where suchtrims may be pre-written into a storage space (e.g., “fuses”). The trimsmay then be copied from fuses to internal registers of an SoC (such ascontrol registers, mode registers, or the like) during a fuseloadprocedure to establish the settings of an SoC design. In some cases,there may be a one-to-one pre-defined mapping (e.g., a hardcodedhardware mapping) between fuse addresses and register addresses on theSoC die. For instance, each fuse address may be mapped to a pre-definedregister address that is set in hardware during manufacturing.

In some cases, the ability to repurpose and reconfigure fuses may bedesirable qualities for an SoC. For example, repurposing andreconfiguring fuses may enable an extension of SoC architecture lifespans, and may also allow chip designers to create new or additionalfunctionalities for a given die. However, the pre-defined one-to-onemapping between fuses and registers may require, for example, trim datafrom respective fuse addresses to always be mapped to a correspondingset of register addresses without variation, which may prohibit dierepurposing and reconfiguration.

Further, fuses may be limited on a die (e.g., the number of fuses mayimpact die area and may accordingly be minimized in certain designs),and the ability to repurpose fuses may therefore maximize utilization ofthe die. But with a static one-to-one mapping between fuse addresses andregister addresses, trims may be copied to registers irrespective ofdesign requirement or configuration. For example, in one configurationof an SoC 105, trims may be needed, but for another configuration, only80 trims may be needed. If the one-to-one pre-defined mapping is used,all trims may be copied in all situations regardless of the SoCconfiguration, which may result in a wastage of fuses or otherresources, such as processing or energy resources (e.g., trim data fromfuses may be unnecessarily copied, which may not be useful orefficient).

As described herein, techniques may be utilized to obviate theone-to-one pre-defined mapping between a fuse address space and aregister address space. For example, the described techniques may enablea same SoC design to be configured with different settings (e.g.,different trims) based on design specifications. Such techniques may beachieved through the use of a fuse header included with trim data copiedfrom fuses. For example, a fuse header format may enable a modular andconfigurable mapping between fuse addresses and register addresses toprovide added flexibility in loading trims to registers. The fuse headermay include subfields providing, for example, one or more of a startingregister address, a fuse header identity (ID), an indication thatenables fuses to be skipped, and a count of fuses from which trims arecopied. The subfields of the fuse headers may provide for the flexiblecopying of trims to a register file.

Accordingly, the described techniques may provide added flexibility inSoC designs when loading trims from fuses, which may include loadingonly trims that are desired for a particular design and therefore avoidwriting an entire register file. Further, in an event of a chipbreakdown, flaw or defect in manufacturing, changes in functionalrequirements, down-binning of die functionality, or the like, thedescribed techniques may enable the configuration of registers to adifferent set of trims (e.g., without an engineering change order (ECO)to change mapping pointers). Further, the described techniques mayenable the addition of fuse loadable registers (e.g., enable controlregisters which were non-fuse loadable to become fuse loadable) withoutan ECO, thereby saving time and avoiding additional costs when designingand producing an SoC.

Features of the disclosure are initially described in the context of anSoC architecture. Features of the disclosure are further described inthe context of fuse headers and fuseload procedures. These and otherfeatures of the disclosure are illustrated by and described withreference to apparatus diagrams, system diagrams, and flowcharts thatrelate to fuseload architectures for SoC reconfiguration andrepurposing.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of an SoC architecture 100 that thatsupports a fuseload architecture for SoC reconfiguration and repurposingin accordance with examples of the present disclosure. The SoCarchitecture 100 illustrates an example of a SoC 105, which may includevarious components including a fuseload controller 110, a processor 115,memory 120, and an input/output (I/O) controller 125. Each of thesecomponent may be coupled through an on-chip interconnection 130. In someexamples, the SoC architecture 100 and SoC 105 may include additional ordifferent components than those described herein.

The SoC architecture 100 may enable functions of an electronic device,such as a computing device, a mobile computing device, a wirelessdevice, a graphics processing device, or the like. For example, the SoC105 may be utilized in various devices, such as a computer, a laptopcomputer, a tablet computer, a smartphone, a cellular phone, a wearabledevice, an internet-connected device, a gaming device, a medical device,a camera, a navigation device, an Internet-of-Things (IoT) device, avideo player, and so forth. In some cases, the SoC 105 may be acomponent of a system configured to perform various functions asspecified for a particular application or design.

In some examples, SoC 105 may have functionality associated with one ormore settings, referred to as “trims,” that may be related to thespecification, requirements, configuration, and/or performance of theSoC 105. The trims may be pre-written into “fuses” that comprise astorage space that stores the trim data for the SoC 105 to load. Thus,at power up, the SoC 105 may be loaded with the trims that determineparticular settings of the SoC 105, where loading trims from fuses intointernal registers of the SoC 105 may be referred to as “fuseload” or afuseload procedure. The SoC 105 may include a fuseload controller 110that is used to perform such fuseload procedures.

The fuseload controller 110 may be a device that carries out thefuseload procedure by copying trims from fuses into registers. Forexample, the fuseload controller 110 may be coupled with a fuse block135 and a register file 140. The fuse block 135 may include a set offuses on the SoC 105, where data may be stored and held on each of thefuses within fuse block 135. In some cases, the fuse block 135 may be orinclude a memory device, such as read-only memory (ROM), where trims maybe stored for access by the fuseload controller 110. Additionally, theregister file 140 may include a set of registers on the SoC 105. Theregisters within register file 140 may include one or more processorregisters, which may be an example of data registers, mode registers,control registers, floating-point registers, special-purpose registers,or the like. The registers may be used for loading data forcomputations, manipulation, or other operations. Further, the set offuses at fuse block 135 may be coupled with the set of registers at theregister file 140, for example, via the fuseload controller 110.

The fuseload controller 110 may perform features of a fuseload procedureon the SoC 105. For instance, the fuseload controller 110 may identifyan address of a fuse within fuse block 135 and may query the identifiedfuse address to obtain fuse data stored at the fuse address. During afuseload procedures, a fuse address may be read by the fuseloadcontroller 110, and a set of trim data (e.g., content from a fuseaddress of fuse block 135) comprising a number of bits may be receivedat the fuseload controller 110. In some examples, the trim data may be40 bits, and the 40 bits may be written to 8 registers of the registerfile 140, with 5 bits written to each register. However, it is notedthat the trim data may include any number of bits to be written to anynumber of registers (e.g., based on a configuration of the SoC 105). Inany case, the fuse data (e.g., trims or trim data) from a fuse addressmay be written to a register address by the fuseload controller 110,where the fuseload controller 110 may first write enable the registerfile 140. The fuseload controller may then identify a register addressfor which data is to be written to, and copy trims to the identifiedregister address of the register file 140.

The processor 115 may be configured to control at least portions of theSoC 105. For example, the processor 115 may include an intelligenthardware device, (e.g., a general-purpose processor, a digital signalprocessor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), amicrocontroller, a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or otherprogrammable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discretehardware components, or it may be a combination of these types ofcomponents). In such cases, the processor 115 may be an example of acentral processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), anarray/vector CPU, among other examples. In some cases, the processor 115may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller.

In other cases, a memory controller may be integrated into the processor115. In some examples, the processor 115 may be configured to executecomputer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., the memory 120)to cause the SoC 105 to perform various functions (e.g., functions ortasks supporting fuseload procedures performed on a die). In some cases,the SoC 105 may include multiple processors 115. In some examples, theprocessor 115 may perform functions or operations ascribed herein to thefuseload controller 110. Additionally or alternatively, the fuseloadcontroller 110 may be partially or entirely included within theprocessor 115.

The memory 120 may include random-access memory (RAM) and read-onlymemory (ROM). The memory 120 may store computer-readable,computer-executable code including instructions that, when executed,cause a processor to perform various functions described herein. In somecases, the memory 120 may contain, among other things, a basicinput/output system (BIOS) which may control basic hardware or softwareoperation on SoC 105, such as the interaction with peripheral componentsor devices.

The I/O controller 125 may manage input and output signals for the SoC105. For instance, the I/O controller may include an output driver,which may be controlled by one or more register bits of the SoC 105. TheI/O controller 125 may manage peripheral components not integrated intothe SoC 105. In some cases, the I/O controller 125 may represent aphysical connection or port to an external peripheral or other device.For example, the I/O controller 125 may represent or interact with amodem, a keyboard, a mouse, a touchscreen, or a similar device. In somecases, the I/O controller 125 may be implemented as part of a processor.A user may interact with the SoC 105 via the I/O controller 125 or viahardware components controlled by the I/O controller 125. In some cases,the I/O controller 125 may manage data communication between theprocessor 115 and peripheral component(s), input 145, output 150, orother components.

The input 145 may represent a device or signal external to the SoC 105that provides information, signals, or data to the SoC 105 or itscomponents. This may include a user interface or interface with orbetween other devices. In some cases, the input 145 may be a peripheralthat interfaces with the SoC 105 via one or more peripheral componentsor may be managed by the I/O controller 125.

The output 150 may represent a device or signal external to the SoC 105configured to receive an output from the SoC 105 or any of itscomponents. Examples of the output 150 may include a display, audiospeakers, a printing device, or another processor on a PCB, etc. In somecases, the output 150 may be a peripheral that interfaces with the SoC105 via one or more peripheral components or may be managed by the I/Ocontroller 125.

The components of SoC 105 may be in electronic communication with oneanother using the on-chip interconnection 130. In some cases, theon-chip interconnection may utilize various interconnect schemes, suchas bus topologies, point-to-point topologies, ring topologies, crossbartopologies, tree topologies, etc. The components of SoC architecture 100may be made up of general-purpose or special purpose circuitry designedto carry out their functions. This may include various circuit elements,for example, conductive lines, transistors, capacitors, inductors,resistors, amplifiers, or other active or passive elements, configuredto carry out the functions described herein.

Some SoC designs may utilize a one-to-one mapping that is pre-definedbetween a fuse address space and a register address space. As anillustrative example, an SoC die may have a total of 1500 registers(e.g., control registers, mode registers, etc.), where each register mayhold a certain number of bits (e.g., 5 bits per register for a total of7500 bits). Of these registers, 96 registers (e.g., corresponding to 480bits) may be identified as registers to be loaded during aninitialization fuseload. The 96 registers may be partitioned intodifferent register groups (e.g., three groups of 32 registers, or someother grouping). In some examples, the registers in each group may havesequential register addresses, but the grouping of registers may or maynot correspond to sequential register addresses.

For instance, a first register group may include registers withaddresses 0 through 31, a second register group may include registerswith addresses 40 through 71, and a third register group may includeregisters with addresses 940 through 971. It is noted that differentnumbers of registers may be included in different register groups. Apre-defined one-to-one mapping may correspond to a first fuse address(e.g., ′d0) that is mapped to a first set of register addresses (e.g.,′d0, ′d1, ′d2, ′d3, ′d4, ′d6, and ′d7). Similarly, another fuse address(e.g., ′d5) may be mapped to a second set of register addresses (e.g.,′d48, ′d49, ′d50, ′d51, ′d52, ′d53, ′d54, and ′d55), and so forth. Sucha pre-defined mapping may be fixed in the hardware (e.g., at the time ofmanufacture).

However, with the use of the pre-defined one-to-one mapping, fuseaddresses may not be mapped to any other register addresses. Forinstance, in the above example, with fuse address ′d5 mapped to thesecond set of register addresses ′d48, ′d49, ′d50, ′d51, ′d52, ′d53,′d54, and ′d55, fuse address ′d5 may not be mapped to a differentregister address space (e.g., without an ECO, which may be costly andtake time). In other words, the one-to-one mapping may not allow forfuse reassignment.

In addition, the pre-defined mapping may require that all trims bewritten into fuses (e.g., an entire fuseload), which may be performed bydefault. Thus, such configurations may not provide flexibility (e.g.,during manufacturing and/or post manufacturing of a die) to load onlyfuses needed for a given die configuration. As a result, all trims mayalways be loaded, as opposed to a subset of trims needed for aparticular die configuration (e.g., related to a design specification).Further, the pre-defined mapping may not allow for reconfigurability tofuseload operations. That is, the pre-defined mapping may not allow forfuses to be loaded in a reconfigurable order, or for skipping certainfuses, and may thereby limit or prohibit flexibility in reconfiguringthe fuses to be loaded.

As described herein, the SoC architecture 100 may support techniquesthat provide reconfigurability for loading trims, avoiding one-to-onepre-defined mappings between fuse addresses and register addresses,which may add flexibility for skipping or otherwise allowing copying ofsubsets of trims. Such techniques may be achieved through the use of afuse header.

For example, a fuse header format may be used by the fuseload controller110 to enable a modular and configurable mapping between fuse addressesof fuse block 135 and register address of register file 140 with addedflexibility in loading trims. The fuse header may be a certain number ofbits (e.g., 40 bits) within trim data stored at the fuse block 135, andmay include subfields that carry information instructing the fuseloadcontroller 110 how to perform fuseload. Examples of the subfields mayinclude one or more of a register start address, a fuse header ID, askip option, or a fuse count. The subfields of such fuse headers mayprovide for the flexible copying of trims to a register file 140.

Thus, the described techniques may be used to efficiently repurpose anumber of fuses on a die, which may allow for a product to be taped-outwithout or with minimal ECOs, as fuses (and the mapping of fuseaddresses to register addresses) may be flexibly re-configured. Suchtechniques may further enable the utilization of unused fuse space on adie. For instance, use of the fuse header may accommodate additionalregisters on a die, where the additional registers may becomefuse-loadable through the reconfigurability provided by the fuse header.

As an example, a die having a static one-to-one mapping may befunctional, but may no longer be used for a particular configuration orproduct. However, the still-functional die may have a mapping betweenfuse addresses and register addresses restructured through the use ofthe fuse header, thereby preventing the die from being discarded orotherwise going unused. Further, the described techniques may enableadditional control and flexibility for fuseload procedures by thefuseload controller 110 and fuse utilization (e.g., by a producer or aconsumer of the SoC). For example, the reconfigurability and repurposingschemes may provide advantages to post-silicon design teams, and may beextended to platform design teams and users.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a fuse header configuration 200 thatsupports a fuseload architecture for SoC reconfiguration and repurposingin accordance with examples of the present disclosure. In some examples,the fuse header configuration 200 may be utilized by a fuseloadcontroller, such as the fuseload controller 110 described with referenceto FIG. 1, during a fuseload operation or procedure. In some cases, thefuse header configuration 200 may enable trim data to be coherentlycopied from a set of fuses to a set of registers using a configurablemapping between fuse addresses and register addresses.

In some cases, a fuseload controller may use a fuse header protocol thatdefines the fuse header configuration 200, where the fuse headerconfiguration 200 may include a fuse header 205 that facilitates thecopying of fuse data 210 from one or more fuse addresses 215 to one ormore register addresses 220. For example, the fuse header 205 may beincluded with the fuse data 210 (e.g., trim data associated with thesettings of a SoC and stored at the fuse address 215) that is read by afuseload controller, and may provide information to the fuseloadcontroller regarding how trim data may be copied during fuseload.

The fuse header 205 may be formatted to include a certain number of bits(e.g., 25 bits) out of a total number of bits stored at a fuse address215 (e.g., 40 bits). The fuse header 205 may be the first portion ofdata that is read from a fuse address 215. For instance, a fuse header205 may comprise the first 25 bits that the fuseload controller readsbefore any other fuse data 210 stored at the fuse address 215. The fuseheader 205 may also include one or more subfields 225 that provideinformation to the fuseload controller related to how fuse addresses 215may be mapped to register addresses 220. For example, the one or moresubfields 225 may include a fuse address count (FAC) subfield 225, aninitial skip option (ISO) subfield 225, a fuse header ID (FID) subfield225, a register start address (RSA) subfield 225, or any combinationthereof.

Each of the subfields 225 may comprise any number of bits of the fuseheader 205. In some cases, a subfield 225 may include any combination ofinformation, where, for example, data including two or more subfields225 may be combined within a same subfield. For instance, asillustrated, the ISO subfield 225 and the FID subfield 225 may beincluded in a same subfield 225. In some cases, the subfields 225 may beincluded in the fuse header 205 in a different order or arrangement thanshown in FIG. 2, and additional or different subfields 225 providinginformation for fuseload procedures also may be included in the fuseheader 205.

In some cases, the RSA subfield 225 of the fuse header 205 may includean indication of a beginning register address 220 for fuseload. Forexample, the value or indication provided by the RSA subfield 225 maypoint a fuseload controller to a starting register address 220 to whichtrims are to be copied to during fuseload.

The FID subfield 225 may include an identity of a current fuse header205 (e.g., from a set of one or more fuse headers 205) that the fuseloadcontroller reads from a set of fuse address 215. The FID subfield 225may provide a further indication of whether fuse data 210 associatedwith a current fuse header 205 is to be copied. For instance, an FIDsubfield 225 with a logic value of 0 may indicate that the current fuseheader 205, and the fuse data 210 associated with that fuse header 205,may not be copied. In other cases, an FID subfield 225 having a value of1 may indicate to the fuseload controller that the associated fuse data210 is to be copied.

The ISO subfield 225 may provide an indication that trims associatedwith a current fuse header 205 may be skipped during a fuseloadprocedure. For instance, upon reading the ISO subfield 225 from a firstfuse header 205, the fuseload controller may refrain from copying trimsfrom the fuse address 215 (or fuse addresses 215) that correspond to thefirst fuse header 205. The fuseload controller may then proceed to reada subsequent fuse header 205 (e.g., with the option to subsequently copytrims associated with the first fuse header 205 based on a configurablefuseload order).

The FAC subfield 225 may indicate the number of fuses or fuse addresses215 that are included in a particular fuse group or fuse header group(e.g., a set of fuses associated with a fuse header 205). In such cases,the fuseload controller may increment a counter when copying trim datafrom fuse addresses 215, and may terminate a fuseload procedure for acurrent fuse header 205 based on the FAC subfield 225.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a fuse group configuration 300 thatsupports a fuseload architecture for SoC reconfiguration and repurposingin accordance with examples of the present disclosure. In some examples,the fuse group configuration 300 may be utilized by a fuseloadcontroller, such as the fuseload controller 110 described with referenceto FIG. 1, during a fuseload operation or procedure. In some cases, thefuse group configuration 300 may enable trim data to be coherentlycopied from a set of fuses to a set of registers using a configurablemapping between fuse addresses and register addresses.

In some cases, a fuseload controller may use a fuse header protocol thatdefines the fuse group configuration 300. For example, the fuse groupconfiguration 300 may include a fuse header 305 that enables copying offuse data 310 from one or more fuse addresses 315 to one or moreregister addresses 320. Further, multiple groups of fuse addresses 315may be defined, and may comprise a fuse header group 325 (or fusegroup). For example, each fuse header 305 be associated with, andprovide information for copying fuse data 310 from, one or more fuseaddresses 315 within the fuse header group 325. As such, the fuse header305 may be unique to each fuse header group 325 and may addressdifferent regions of a register address space.

In some cases, and as described below, multiple fuse header groups 325may be separated by respective fuse headers 305. For instance, each fuseheader 305 for a set of fuses may be associated with a subset of fuseaddresses 315, where the subset of fuse addresses 315 correspond to afuse header group 325. In some cases, a single fuse header 305 may beassociated with all fuses on a die. In other examples, any number offuse headers 305 may be used for different subsets of fuses on the die.As an example, a first fuse header group 325 may include a set of fivefuse addresses (e.g., Fuse0 through Fuse4).

The fuse header 305 may comprise a first number of bits (e.g., 25 bits)at the first fuse address 315 (e.g., Fuse0) and may signal the beginningof the first fuse header group 325. Accordingly, out of the total numberof bits at Fuse0 (40 bits in this example), the first 25 bits maycomprise the subfields of the fuse header 305, including an RSA subfield(e.g., comprising 10 bits), an FID subfield (e.g., comprising 4 bits),an ISO subfield (e.g., comprising one bit), and an FAC subfield (e.g.,comprising 10 bits). As mentioned above, each subfield and thus the fuseheader 305 may comprise any number of bits, and the examples describedherein are provided only for descriptive clarity.

A fuseload controller may use the fuse header 305 for copying trim dataof the fuse header group 325 to a set of registers. In keeping with theabove numeric examples, each fuse address 315 may include 40 bits oftrim data, and a fuse header may comprise 25 bits of the 40 bits of trimdata. Each set of trim data from respective fuse addresses 315 may becopied to eight 5-bit registers. The mapping information may beextracted from the subfields of the fuse header 305 by the fuseloadcontroller based on the fuse header 305 (as opposed to, e.g., based on ahard-coded one-to-one mapping between fuse addresses 315 and registeraddresses 320). As such, the fuseload controller may begin from a firstfuse address 315 (e.g., fuse0) that includes the fuse header 305.

The fuseload controller may identify, from the fuse header 305, an RSAsubfield. Based on the RSA subfield, the fuseload controller maydetermine a portion of the mapping between fuse addresses 315 andregister addresses 320. For instance, the RSA subfield in the fuseheader 305 may indicate a starting register address 320 where trim datais to be copied. That is, when the fuseload controller performs thefuseload, trims may be sequentially copied beginning with the startingregister address 320 as indicated by the RSA subfield in the fuse header305 (e.g., Register0, in this case). The fuseload controller mayidentify, from the fuse header 305, an FID subfield.

The fuse header 305 at the first fuse address 315 may include a non-zeroFID subfield, which may indicate to the fuseload controller that trimdata for a current fuse header group 325 is to be copied (as opposed to,e.g., a fuse header ID subfield with a zero value, which may indicatethat trim data for the current fuse header group 325 is not to becopied). The fuseload controller may identify, from the fuse header 305,an ISO subfield. The ISO subfield within the fuse header 305 may providean indication to the fuseload controller of whether the current fuseheader group 325 is to be skipped (e.g., associated trim data is not tobe copied). Further, the fuseload controller may identify, from the fuseheader 305, a FAC subfield. The FAC subfield of the fuse header 305 mayindicate to the fuseload controller the total number of fuse addresses315 in the fuse header group 325 as well as where the current fuseheader group 325 ends (e.g., a last fuse address 315 to be copied (e.g.,Fuse4) within the fuse header group 325).

The fuseload controller may initiate a sequential process for thefuseload based on the fuse header 305, where the first 5 bits followingthe fuse header 305 may be copied into a first register address (e.g.,Register0, which may correspond to the register start address indicatedby the RSA subfield), a subsequent 5 bits may be copied into asubsequent register address (e.g., Register1), and so on. Once theentire fuse address 315 (e.g., Fuse0) is read, the fuse address 315 maybe incremented by the fuseload controller, and the process of copyingfuse data 310 from a second fuse address 315 (e.g., Fuse1) may berepeated with trim data being copied to respective register addresses320.

In such cases, the 40 bit fuse data 310 of the second fuse address 315(e.g., Fuse1) may be sequentially read, and the trims may be copied inincreasing order of eight 5 bit register addresses 320 (e.g., toRegister3, Register4, Register5, Register6, Register7, Register8,Register9, and Register10). The fuse address 315 may then be incrementedagain (e.g., to Fuse2) and a similar process may be performed for eachsubsequent fuse address 315 within the same fuse header group 325 (e.g.,associated with the first fuse header 305 and as indicated by the FACsubfield).

The described process may be repeated until the fuse address countindicated by the FAC subfield of the fuse header 305 is reached. Oncethe fuse address count is reached, the fuseload controller may proceedto read a second fuse header 305 associated with a second, different,fuse header group 325. In some cases, the second fuse header 305 mayinclude a non-zero FID subfield. Accordingly, the fuseload controllermay perform the above process of copying trim data to register addressesbased on the information provided in the fuse header 305 of the secondfuse header group 325. The fuseload controller may continue to read fuseheader groups 325 until it reaches a fuse address where the fuse header305 is empty (e.g., all zeros). In such cases, the fuseload proceduremay then be completed (e.g., terminated by the fuseload controller).

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of fuse groups that support a fuseloadarchitecture for SoC reconfiguration and repurposing in accordance withexamples of the present disclosure. In some examples, the fuse groups400 may be utilized by a fuseload controller, such as the fuseloadcontroller 110 described with reference to FIG. 1, during a fuseloadprocedure. In some cases, the fuse groups 400 may enable trim data to becoherently copied from a set of fuses to a set of registers using aconfigurable mapping between fuse addresses and register addresses. Forinstance, the information included within fuse headers of the fusegroups 400 may enable or disable skipping of different fuse headergroups during a fuseload procedure.

As described above with reference to FIG. 3, a fuse header 405 may beused by a fuseload controller during fuseload, where the fuse header 405may provide information used for copying of fuse data from one or morefuse addresses 415 to one or more register addresses 420. Additionally,multiple fuse headers 405 may be used, and each fuse header 405 may beassociated with a fuse header group 425.

For instance, a first fuse header 405-a may correspond to a first fuseheader group 425-a that includes one or more fuse addresses 415-a (e.g.,Fuse0 through Fuse4) with data available to be copied to a first set ofregister addresses 420-a, a second fuse header 405-b may correspond to asecond fuse header group 425-b that includes one or more fuse addresses415-b (e.g., Fuse10 through Fuse14) with data available to be copied toa second set of register addresses 420-b, and so forth. As such, thefuseload controller may perform a fuseload of each fuse header group 425in accordance with the information contained within the subfields of therespective fuse headers 405, such as described above with reference toFIGS. 2 and 3.

As the mapping of fuse addresses 415 to register addresses 420 may beprovided through the fuse header 405, the fuse addresses 415 indifferent fuse header groups 425 may be mapped to any given registerspace. For instance, in the example of the second fuse header group425-b, fuse addresses 415-b (e.g., Fuse10 through Fuse14) may be mappedto the second set of register addresses 420-b (e.g., Register40 throughRegister74). Additionally or alternatively, the mapping may be modifiedby changing one or more fuse headers 405. For example, an RSA subfieldin the second fuse header 405-b may be changed to enable updates ormodifications to the mapping of fuse addresses 415 to registeraddresses. For example, the RSA subfield in the second fuse header 405-bmay be changed from indicating “Register40” to now indicate“Register80.” Thus, the mapping may be dynamically modified, resultingin fuse addresses 415 being copied to registers starting from adesignated register address (e.g., Register80, in this example). Suchtechniques may beneficially enable on-the-fly reconfiguration andrepurposing of fuses for loading trims to a different set of registers.

Further, different fuseload configurations may be specified. Forinstance, a first configuration may be defined that corresponds to afuse header 405 having an RSA subfield indicating “Register40” as abeginning register address in addition to a fuse count subfieldindicating 5 fuse address 415 (e.g., Fuse10 through Fuse14) to becopied. Therefore, the first configuration may copy the trim data fromthe second fuse header group 425-b into register addresses 420-b fromRegister40 to Register74 (e.g., 175 bits of fuse data copied to 35respective 5-bit registers).

Additionally, in a second configuration, register addresses Register40through Register66 may be fuse loaded. Thus, the RSA subfield of a fuseheader 405 may indicate register address “Register40,” and the fusecount subfield may be indicate that fuse data from 4 fuses (e.g., Fuse10through Fuse13) is to be copied. As a result, the second configurationmay copy the contents of the fuses of the second fuse header group 425-binto registers addressed from Register40 to Register66, avoidingunnecessarily loading fuse data from a fuse (e.g., Fuse14, in thiscase), and the use of modified parameters within the subfields of fuseheader 405 may enable controllability of fuse allocation.

Fuse headers 405 may also allow certain fuse header groups 425 to beskipped during a fuseload procedure. The ISO subfield of the fuse header405 may provide features that allow fuseload schemes to skip and/orallow (e.g., not skip) the copying of trims associated with the fuseheader 405. By using these features, the die may be flexibly configuredthrough the coherent selection of certain trim data needed for the die,where some trims may be copied and others may not. As an illustrativeexample, when the fuses of a fuse header group 425 are to be written,the ISO subfield (e.g., comprising 1 bit) may be set to a logic value of0. The fuseload controller may identify a non-zero FID and FACsubfields, and may begin copying fuses. However, if the fuseloadcontroller identifies a skip option bit set to 1, even though the fuseheader 405 is present and includes data within one or more subfields,the fuseload controller may skip copying the trims for the particularfuse header group 425 associated with the fuse header 405 based on theskip bit set to 1.

By way of example, the first fuse header 405-a may include an indicationto skip the first fuse header group 425-a based on the ISO subfield. Thefuseload controller may then skip the first fuse header group 425-a, andproceed with reading the second fuse header 405-b of the second fuseheader group 425-b. The fuseload controller may then determine whetherthe second fuse header 405-b includes information indicating that thesecond fuse header group 425-b is to be loaded to the second set ofregister addresses 420-b. Such features may allow for additionalflexibility in fuseload procedures.

The use of fuse headers 405 may also enable reconfigurability andrepurposing of a die, where reconfigurability may be achieved by aflexible choice of fuseload. For example, using a first fuseloadconfiguration, an SoC may be configured to load all fuse header groups425 (e.g., fuse header groups 425-a, 425-b, and 425-c), in a secondfuseload configuration an SoC may only load two fuse header groups 425(e.g., fuse header groups 425-a and 425-c), while in a third fuseloadconfiguration, a die may load fuse header groups 425 in a differentorder (e.g., a third fuse header group 425-c before the first fuseheader group 425-a). Such variability in fuseload configurations may beachieved by setting the initial skip option bit and writing the fuses inthe desired order. In some cases, through the use of differentconfigurations, one or more registers may be defined which can betrim-backed (e.g., fuse loadable) that might be identified during a latepost-silicon process (and not initially planned for in a design). Suchtechniques may provide the ability to address feature modification andconfigurability per die.

Fuse headers 405 utilized during fuseload procedures, including theskip/allow functionality described above, may further enable diemanufacturers, engineers, and users to re-purpose and re-allocate trimsand provide an efficient utilization (and re-utilization) of fuses on adie. Further, the described techniques may provide for flexibility andtime savings when loading trims, and may allow the configuration of trimloads per design requirement while avoiding redundant copying of trimswhen not needed. As a result, the use of the fuse header 405 may enablefinancial and resource savings in project stepping, and may furtheravoid design changes (ECOs) for adding/re-structuring of fuses on a dieas the described fuse header protocol facilitates such features.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a flowchart 500 that supports afuseload architecture for SoC reconfiguration and repurposing inaccordance with examples of the present disclosure. Flowchart 500 mayillustrate a fuseload procedure when using a fuse header that indicateshow trims may be loaded based on a configurable mapping between fuseaddresses and register addresses. In some cases, the functions offlowchart 500 may be performed by a device, such as a fuseloadcontroller 110 as described with reference to FIG. 1.

At 505, the fuseload controller may begin a fuseload procedure to loadtrims to a set of registers. For example, the fuseload procedure begunat 505 may be triggered by a boot event (e.g., at power up of an SoC) orreboot event, or—additionally or alternatively—as part of apost-fabrication process, such as a trim process associated with adeployment or installation of the SoC. In such cases, the fuseloadcontroller may start the fuseload procedure by reading data from a firstfuse address (e.g., Fuse0) that includes a fuse header. At 510, thefuseload controller may read the fuse header and identify one or moresubfields within the fuse header.

At 515, the fuseload controller may determine whether the fuse header isempty. For example, the fuseload controller may determine whether a oneor more subfields of the fuse header include (or are populated with)non-zero data. In some cases, the fuseload controller may identify thatan FID subfield of the fuse header includes non-zero data identifying acurrent fuse header that is associated with a first fuse header group(or fuse group), where the first fuse header group may include a subsetof fuses on a die.

Accordingly, upon determining that the first fuse header is not empty(e.g., based on the existence of non-zero data included in the firstfuse header), the fuseload controller may, based on the substance of thenon-zero data included in the first fuse header, set a register startaddress and a fuse address count at 520. In some cases, the subfieldswithin the fuse header may provide an indication of the register startaddress and the fuse address count, and the fuseload may set thesevalues based on the indication within each subfield.

At 525, the fuseload controller may, based on the identified subfieldsof the fuse header, copy trim data from a first fuse address to a firstset of registers, where the first set of registers include a firstregister having a register address corresponding to the register startaddress. At 530, the fuseload controller may read a second fuse addressbased on the fuse header, and may proceed with copying trim data fromthe second fuse address to a second set of registers based on the fuseaddress count. Further, at 535, the fuseload controller may continuecopying fuse addresses that are part of the first fuse header groupuntil the fuse address count is satisfied (e.g., reached). For example,at 540 the fuseload controller may determine whether the fuse addresscount has been reached after incrementing a counter after each fuseaddress is read. If the fuse address has not been satisfied, thefuseload controller may return to 530 and continue reading additionalfuse addresses, copying fuse data from fuse addresses to registers, andcheck again to determine whether the fuse address count has beenreached.

In cases where it has been determined the fuse address count has beensatisfied at 540, the fuseload controller may return to 510 and read asecond fuse header based on the determination. The second fuse headermay be associated with a second fuse header group (or fuse group) andthe fuse header may also include subfields that indicate how trims fromthe second fuse header group are to be copied. Thus, the fuseloadcontroller, at 515, may again determine whether the second fuse headerincludes non-zero data. If it is determined that the second fuse headeris not empty (e.g., includes non-zero data), the fuseload controller mayproceed with setting a start register address and fuse count at 520, andproceed with loading trims from fuse addresses, such as described abovewith reference to 525 through 540. If it is determined that the secondfuse header is empty (e.g., the FID subfield or other subfields of thesecond fuse header does not include non-zero data), the fuseloadcontroller may end the fuseload procedure at 545.

As described above with reference to FIG. 4, the fuseload controller mayperform other functions while reading fuse header data from the fuseheaders. For instance, an ISO subfield may indicate that a correspondingfuse group may be skipped. Additionally or alternatively, the fuseloadcontroller may determine, from the subfields of a fuse header, whatorder by which trims are to be copied from fuses to a set of registers.

FIG. 6 shows a block diagram 600 of a controller 605 that supports thatsupports fuseload architecture for SoC reconfiguration and repurposingin accordance with examples of the present disclosure. The controllermay be an example of a fuseload controller described herein, such as afuseload controller 110 as described with reference with FIG. 1. Thecontroller 605 may be coupled with a fuse/ROM block 610 and a registerfile 615. Additionally, the controller may include a fuse group manager620, a trim data manager 625, a fuse count component 630, a registeraddress manager 635, a subfield manager 640, and a fuse header manager645.

In some cases, the controller may also include a processor and memory,where the memory may store computer-readable, computer-executable codeincluding instructions that, when executed, cause the processor toperform various functions described herein. For example, the code mayinclude instructions to implement features of the present disclosure,including instructions to support fuseload procedures. The code may bestored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as systemmemory or other type of memory. In some cases, the code may not bedirectly executable by the processor but may cause a computer (e.g.,when compiled and executed) to perform functions described herein. Eachof these modules may communicate, directly or indirectly, with oneanother (e.g., via one or more buses).

The controller 605 may identify a set of fuses on a die and identify aset of registers coupled with the set of fuses on the die, the set offuses storing trim data to be copied to the set of registers. In somecases, the controller 605 may determine, based on one or more fuseheaders within the trim data, a mapping between fuse addresses for theset of fuses and register addresses for the set of registers and copytrim data from the set of fuses to the identified set of registers basedon the mapping.

In some cases, the controller 605 may identify a set of registerscoupled with a set of fuses on a die that each have a fuse address, eachregister of the set of registers having a register address and each fuseof the set of fuses storing a set of trim data available to be copied tothe set of registers. In some examples, the controller may identify oneor more fuse headers as part of the sets of trim data, each fuse headerof the one or more fuse headers corresponding to a fuse group of the oneor more fuse groups and indicating a mapping between fuse addresses forthe set of fuses and register addresses for the set of registers. Insome examples, the controller may determine, based on one or moresubfields within each fuse header of the one or more fuse headers, trimdata to be copied from each fuse group to a corresponding set ofregisters using the mapping. In some examples, the controller may copythe determined trim data from the identified set of fuses to theidentified set of registers based on the one or more subfields withineach fuse header.

The Fuse/ROM block 610 may include the set of fuses on the die, and maybe an example of ROM or another type of memory device. The register file615 may include the set of registers, which may include, for example,control registers, mode registers, data registers, or the like.

The fuse group manager 620 may identify a set of fuse groups, each fusegroup of the set respectively corresponding to a fuse header of the oneor more fuse headers and including a subset of the set of fuses, wherethe mapping is based on the set of fuse groups. In some cases, the fusegroup manager 620 may identify a first fuse group based on a fuse headerof the one or more fuse headers. In some cases, the fuse group manager620 may identify a number of fuses associated with the first fuse groupbased on the fuse address count included in the fuse header, wherecopying the trim data is based on the first fuse group and the number offuses associated with the first fuse group. In some cases, the fusegroup manager 620 may determine whether to skip a first fuse group basedon an indication of a skip option within a first fuse header of the oneor more fuse headers, the first fuse header corresponding to the firstfuse group.

The trim data manager 625 may copy trim data from a first fuse addressto a first set of registers, the first set of registers including afirst register having a register address corresponding to a registerstart address. In some examples, the trim data manager 625 may copy thetrim data from the second fuse address to a second set of registersbased on the fuse address count. In some cases, the trim data manager625 may copy the trim data from a third fuse address to a third set ofregisters based on a fuse address count. In some cases, copying the trimdata from the set of fuses to the identified set of registers is part ofa fuseload procedure.

In some cases, the trim data manager 625 may end the fuseload procedurebased on the determination that a fuse header lacks data. In some cases,the trim data manager 625 may copy the trim data from the first fusegroup to a first set of registers based on a determination to not skipthe first fuse group. Additionally or alternatively, the trim datamanager 625 may refrain from copying the trim data from the first fusegroup based on a determination to skip the first fuse group. In somecases, the trim data manager 625 may copy the determined trim data froma second fuse group corresponding to the second fuse header inaccordance with the header data included in the one or more subfields ofthe second fuse header.

In some cases, the trim data manager 625 may copy a first portion of thedetermined trim data stored by a first fuse address to a first registeraddress and copy a second portion of the determined trim data stored bythe first fuse address to a second register address. In some examples,copying trim data includes identifying a first fuse group based on apresence of header data within a first fuse header, determining a numberof fuse addresses associated with the first fuse group based on the fuseaddress count for the first fuse header, determining a starting registeraddress based on the register start address for the first fuse header,and copying, until the fuse address count is satisfied, the determinedtrim data from the determined number of fuse addresses associated withthe first fuse group to a first subset of registers including thestarting register.

The fuse count component 630 may determine that the fuse address counthas not been satisfied. Additionally or alternatively, the fuse countcomponent 630 may determine that the fuse address count has beensatisfied. In some cases, the fuse count component 630 may increment,from the first fuse address to a second fuse address, a next fuseaddress to be read based on a determination that all the determined trimdata stored by the first fuse address has been copied.

The register address manager 635 may determine, based on the registerstart address included in the set of subfields, a beginning registeraddress for copying the trim data from the set of fuses. In some cases,the register address manager 635 may set the register start address anda fuse address count based on the first fuse header being populated withthe header data.

The subfield manager 640 may identify a set of subfields within each ofthe one or more fuse headers, where the set of subfields includes a fuseaddress count, or a skip option, or a fuse header ID, or a registerstart address, or any combination thereof, where the mapping is based onthe set of subfields. In some cases, the subfield manager 640 may set aregister start address and a fuse address count based on the first fuseheader being populated with the header data. In some cases, the subfieldmanager 640 may read the second fuse address based on the header data.

In some examples, the subfield manager 640 may determine a fuseloadorder for copying the trim data from the identified set of fuses to theidentified set of registers based on determining whether the skip optionis triggered and one or more of a fuse address count, or a fuse headerID, or a register start address, or a combination thereof. In someexamples, the subfield manager 640 may determine, in accordance with theone or more subfields within each fuse header, a fuse address count, ora skip option, or a fuse header ID, or a register start address, or anycombination thereof, where copying the determined trim data is based onthe fuse address count, or the skip option, or the fuse header ID, orthe register start address, or any combination thereof.

The fuse header manager 645 may identify a first fuse header of the oneor more fuse headers and determine whether the first fuse header ispopulated with header data, where copying the trim data is based ondetermining whether the first fuse header is populated with the headerdata. In some cases, the fuse header manager 645 may read a second fuseheader of the one or more fuse headers based on determining that thefuse address count has been satisfied. In some cases, the fuse headermanager 645 may determine that the first fuse header lacks header data.In some examples, the fuse header manager 645 may read a second fuseheader of the one or more fuse headers, the second fuse headercorresponding to a second fuse group. In some cases, the fuse headermanager 645 may read a fuse header corresponding to a fuse group beforereading a remaining portion of the fuse group including trim data.

In some examples, the fuse header manager 645 may determine that a firstfuse header of the one or more fuse headers indicates that a first fusegroup corresponding to the first fuse header is to be skipped, identifya second fuse header of the one or more fuse headers based on theindication that the first fuse group is to be skipped, and determinethat the second fuse header includes the one or more subfields havingheader data. In some cases, the fuse header manager 645 may determinethat a first fuse header of the one or more fuse headers is empty andrefrain from reading fuse headers that are subsequent to the first fuseheader based on the first fuse header.

FIG. 7 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 700 that supports afuseload architecture for SoC reconfiguration and repurposing inaccordance with examples of the present disclosure. The operations ofmethod 700 may be implemented by a controller or its components asdescribed herein. For example, the operations of method 700 may beperformed by a fuseload controller 110 as described with reference toFIG. 1 or a controller 605 as described with reference to FIG. 6.

At 705 the controller may identify a set of fuses on a die. Forinstance, a die may include multiple fuses for storing information usedto configure the functionality of the die. In certain examples, featuresof the operations of 705 may be performed by a fuseload controller 110as described with reference to FIG. 1 or a controller 605 as describedwith reference to FIG. 6. The operations of 705 may be performedaccording to the techniques described with reference to FIGS. 1 through5.

At 710 the controller may identify a set of registers coupled with theset of fuses on the die, the set of fuses storing trim data to be copiedto the set of registers. In certain examples, features of the operationsof 710 may be performed by a fuseload controller 110 as described withreference to FIG. 1 or a controller 605 as described with reference toFIG. 6. The operations of 710 may be performed according to thetechniques described with reference to FIGS. 1 through 5.

At 715 the controller may determine, based on one or more fuse headerswithin the trim data, a mapping between fuse addresses for the set offuses and register addresses for the set of registers. In certainexamples, features of the operations of 715 may be performed by afuseload controller 110 as described with reference to FIG. 1 or acontroller 605 as described with reference to FIG. 6. The operations of715 may be performed according to the techniques described withreference to FIGS. 1 through 5.

At 720 the controller may copy trim data from the set of fuses to theidentified set of registers based on the mapping. In certain examples,features of the operations of 720 may be performed by a fuseloadcontroller 110 as described with reference to FIG. 1 or a controller 605as described with reference to FIG. 6. The operations of 720 may beperformed according to the techniques described with reference to FIGS.1 through 5.

In some examples, an apparatus as described herein may perform a methodor methods, such as the method 700. The apparatus may include features,means, or instructions (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable mediumstoring instructions executable by a processor) for identifying a set offuses on a die and identifying a set of registers coupled with the setof fuses on the die, the set of fuses storing trim data to be copied tothe set of registers. Some examples of the method 700, apparatuses, andnon-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may furtherinclude operations, features, means, or instructions determining, basedon one or more fuse headers within the trim data, a mapping between fuseaddresses for the set of fuses and register addresses for the set ofregisters. Some examples of the method 700, apparatuses, andnon-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may furtherinclude operations, features, means, or instructions for copying trimdata from the set of fuses to the identified set of registers based onthe mapping.

Some examples of the method 700, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein may further includeoperations, features, means, or instructions for identifying a set offuse groups, each fuse group of the set respectively corresponding to afuse header of the one or more fuse headers and including a subset ofthe set of fuses, where the mapping is based on the set of fuse groups.Some examples of the method 700, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein may further includeoperations, features, means, or instructions for identifying a set ofsubfields within each of the one or more fuse headers, where the set ofsubfields includes a fuse address count, or a skip option, or a fuseheader ID, or a register start address, or any combination thereof,where the mapping is based on the set of subfields.

Some examples of the method 700, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein may further includeoperations, features, means, or instructions for determining, based onthe register start address included in the set of subfields, a beginningregister address for copying the trim data from the set of fuses. Someexamples of the method 700, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein may further includeoperations, features, means, or instructions for identifying a firstfuse group based on a fuse header of the one or more fuse headers. Someexamples of the method 700, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein may further includeoperations, features, means, or instructions for identifying a number offuses associated with the first fuse group based on the fuse addresscount included in the fuse header, where copying the trim data is basedon the first fuse group and the number of fuses associated with thefirst fuse group.

Some examples of the method 700, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein may further includeoperations, features, means, or instructions for identifying a firstfuse header of the one or more fuse headers. Some examples of the method700, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium describedherein may further include operations, features, means, or instructionsfor determining whether the first fuse header is populated with headerdata, where copying the trim data is based on determining whether thefirst fuse header is populated with the header data.

Some examples of the method 700, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein may further includeoperations, features, means, or instructions for setting a registerstart address and a fuse address count based on the first fuse headerbeing populated with the header data. Some examples of the method 700,apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium describedherein may further include operations, features, means, or instructionsfor copying the trim data from a first fuse address to a first set ofregisters, the first set of registers including a first register havinga register address corresponding to the register start address.

Some examples of the method 700, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein may further includeoperations, features, means, or instructions for reading a second fuseaddress based on the header data. Some examples of the method 700,apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium describedherein may further include operations, features, means, or instructionsfor copying the trim data from the second fuse address to a second setof registers based on the fuse address count. Some examples of themethod 700, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable mediumdescribed herein may further include operations, features, means, orinstructions for determining that the fuse address count has not beensatisfied. Some examples of the method 700, apparatuses, andnon-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may furtherinclude operations, features, means, or instructions for copying thetrim data from a third fuse address to a third set of registers based onthe fuse address count.

Some examples of the method 700, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein may further includeoperations, features, means, or instructions for determining that thefuse address count has been satisfied. Some examples of the method 700,apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium describedherein may further include operations, features, means, or instructionsfor reading a second fuse header of the one or more fuse headers basedon determining that the fuse address count has been satisfied. In someexamples of the method 700, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein, copying the trim data fromthe set of fuses to the identified set of registers may be part of thefuseload procedures. Some examples of the method 700, apparatuses, andnon-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may furtherinclude operations, features, means, or instructions for determiningthat the first fuse header lacks header data. Some examples of themethod 700, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable mediumdescribed herein may further include operations, features, means, orinstructions for ending the fuseload procedure based on thedetermination.

Some examples of the method 700, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein may further includeoperations, features, means, or instructions for determining whether toskip a first fuse group based on an indication of a skip option within afirst fuse header of the one or more fuse headers, the first fuse headercorresponding to the first fuse group. Some examples of the method 700,apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium describedherein may further include operations, features, means, or instructionsfor copying the trim data from the first fuse group to a first set ofregisters based on a determination to not skip the first fuse group.

Some examples of the method 700, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein may further includeoperations, features, means, or instructions for refraining from copyingthe trim data from the first fuse group based on a determination to skipthe first fuse group. Some examples of the method 700, apparatuses, andnon-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may furtherinclude operations, features, means, or instructions for reading asecond fuse header of the one or more fuse headers, the second fuseheader corresponding to a second fuse group.

Some examples of the method 700, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein may further includeoperations, features, means, or instructions for determining a fuseloadorder for copying the trim data from the identified set of fuses to theidentified set of registers based on determining whether the skip optionis triggered and one or more of a fuse address count, or a fuse headerID, or a register start address, or a combination thereof. Some examplesof the method 700, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readablemedium described herein may further include operations, features, means,or instructions for reading a fuse header corresponding to a fuse groupbefore reading a remaining portion of the fuse group including trimdata.

FIG. 8 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 800 that supports afuseload architecture for SoC reconfiguration and repurposing inaccordance with examples of the present disclosure. The operations ofmethod 800 may be implemented by a controller or its components asdescribed herein. For example, the operations of method 800 may beperformed by a fuseload controller 110 as described with reference toFIG. 1 or a controller 605 as described with reference to FIG. 6.

At 805 the controller may identify a set of registers coupled with a setof fuses on a die that each have a fuse address, each register of theset of registers having a register address and each fuse of the set offuses storing a set of trim data available to be copied to the set ofregisters. In certain examples, features of the operations of 805 may beperformed by a fuseload controller 110 as described with reference toFIG. 1 or a controller 605 as described with reference to FIG. 6. Theoperations of 805 may be performed according to the techniques describedwith reference to FIGS. 1 through 5.

At 810 the controller may identify one or more fuse headers as part ofthe sets of trim data, each fuse header of the one or more fuse headerscorresponding to a fuse group of the one or more fuse groups andindicating a mapping between fuse addresses for the set of fuses andregister addresses for the set of registers. In certain examples,features of the operations of 810 may be performed by a fuseloadcontroller 110 as described with reference to FIG. 1 or a controller 605as described with reference to FIG. 6. The operations of 810 may beperformed according to the techniques described with reference to FIGS.1 through 5.

At 815 the controller may determine, based on one or more subfieldswithin each fuse header of the one or more fuse headers, trim data to becopied from each fuse group to a corresponding set of registers usingthe mapping. In certain examples, features of the operations of 815 maybe performed by a fuseload controller 110 as described with reference toFIG. 1 or a controller 605 as described with reference to FIG. 6. Theoperations of 815 may be performed according to the techniques describedwith reference to FIGS. 1 through 5.

At 820 the controller may copy the determined trim data from theidentified set of fuses to the identified set of registers based on theone or more subfields within each fuse header. In certain examples,features of the operations of 820 may be performed by a fuseloadcontroller 110 as described with reference to FIG. 1 or a controller 605as described with reference to FIG. 6. The operations of 820 may beperformed according to the techniques described with reference to FIGS.1 through 5.

In some examples, an apparatus as described herein may perform a methodor methods, such as the method 800. The apparatus may include features,means, or instructions (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable mediumstoring instructions executable by a processor) for identifying a set ofregisters coupled with a set of fuses on a die that each have a fuseaddress, each register of the set of registers having a register addressand each fuse of the set of fuses storing a set of trim data availableto be copied to the set of registers. Some examples of the method 800,apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium describedherein may further include operations, features, means, or instructionsidentifying one or more fuse headers as part of the sets of trim data,each fuse header of the one or more fuse headers corresponding to a fusegroup of the one or more fuse groups and indicating a mapping betweenfuse addresses for the set of fuses and register addresses for the setof registers.

Some examples of the method 800, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein may further includeoperations, features, means, or instructions for determining, based onone or more subfields within each fuse header of the one or more fuseheaders, trim data to be copied from each fuse group to a correspondingset of registers using the mapping. Some examples of the method 800,apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium describedherein may further include operations, features, means, or instructionsfor copying the determined trim data from the identified set of fuses tothe identified set of registers based on the one or more subfieldswithin each fuse header.

Some examples of the method 800, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein may further includeoperations, features, means, or instructions for determining, inaccordance with the one or more subfields within each fuse header, afuse address count, or a skip option, or a fuse header ID, or a registerstart address, or any combination thereof, where copying the determinedtrim data is based on the fuse address count, or the skip option, or thefuse header ID, or the register start address, or any combinationthereof. Some examples of the method 800, apparatuses, andnon-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may furtherinclude operations, features, means, or instructions for identifying afirst fuse group based on a presence of header data within a first fuseheader.

Some examples of the method 800, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein may further includeoperations, features, means, or instructions for determining a number offuse addresses associated with the first fuse group based on the fuseaddress count for the first fuse header. Some examples of the method800, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium describedherein may further include operations, features, means, or instructionsfor determining a starting register address based on the register startaddress for the first fuse header. Some examples of the method 800,apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium describedherein may further include operations, features, means, or instructionsfor copying, until the fuse address count is satisfied, the determinedtrim data from the determined number of fuse addresses associated withthe first fuse group to a first subset of registers including thestarting register.

Some examples of the method 800, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein may further includeoperations, features, means, or instructions for determining that afirst fuse header of the one or more fuse headers indicates that a firstfuse group corresponding to the first fuse header is to be skipped. Someexamples of the method 800, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein may further includeoperations, features, means, or instructions for identifying a secondfuse header of the one or more fuse headers based on the indication thatthe first fuse group is to be skipped.

Some examples of the method 800, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein may further includeoperations, features, means, or instructions for determining that thesecond fuse header includes the one or more subfields having headerdata. Some examples of the method 800, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein may further includeoperations, features, means, or instructions for copying the determinedtrim data from a second fuse group corresponding to the second fuseheader in accordance with the header data included in the one or moresubfields of the second fuse header.

Some examples of the method 800, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein may further includeoperations, features, means, or instructions for determining that afirst fuse header of the one or more fuse headers is empty. Someexamples of the method 800, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein may further includeoperations, features, means, or instructions for refraining from readingfuse headers that are subsequent to the first fuse header based on thefirst fuse header.

Some examples of the method 800, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein may further includeoperations, features, means, or instructions for copying a first portionof the determined trim data stored by a first fuse address to a firstregister address. Some examples of the method 800, apparatuses, andnon-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may furtherinclude operations, features, means, or instructions for copying asecond portion of the determined trim data stored by the first fuseaddress to a second register address. Some examples of the method 800,apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium describedherein may further include operations, features, means, or instructionsfor incrementing, from the first fuse address to a second fuse address,a next fuse address to be read based on a determination that all thedetermined trim data stored by the first fuse address has been copied.

Information and signals described herein may be represented using any ofa variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data,instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chipsthat may be referenced throughout the above description may berepresented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magneticfields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combinationthereof. Some drawings may illustrate signals as a single signal;however, it will be understood by a person of ordinary skill in the artthat the signal may represent a bus of signals, where the bus may have avariety of bit widths.

The terms “electronic communication,” “conductive contact,” “connected,”and “coupled” may refer to a relationship between components thatsupports the flow of signals between the components. Components areconsidered in electronic communication with (or in conductive contactwith or connected with or coupled with) one another if there is anyconductive path between the components that can, at any time, supportthe flow of signals between the components. At any given time, theconductive path between components that are in electronic communicationwith each other (or in conductive contact with or connected with orcoupled with) may be an open circuit or a closed circuit based on theoperation of the device that includes the connected components. Theconductive path between connected components may be a direct conductivepath between the components or the conductive path between connectedcomponents may be an indirect conductive path that may includeintermediate components, such as switches, transistors, or othercomponents. In some cases, the flow of signals between the connectedcomponents may be interrupted for a time, for example, using one or moreintermediate components such as switches or transistors.

The term “coupling” refers to condition of moving from an open-circuitrelationship between components in which signals are not presentlycapable of being communicated between the components over a conductivepath to a closed-circuit relationship between components in whichsignals are capable of being communicated between components over theconductive path. When a component, such as a controller, couples othercomponents together, the component initiates a change that allowssignals to flow between the other components over a conductive path thatpreviously did not permit signals to flow.

The term “isolated” refers to a relationship between components in whichsignals are not presently capable of flowing between the components.Components are isolated from each other if there is an open circuitbetween them. For example, two components separated by a switch that ispositioned between the components are isolated from each other when theswitch is open. When a controller isolates two components, thecontroller affects a change that prevents signals from flowing betweenthe components using a conductive path that previously permitted signalsto flow.

The devices discussed herein may be formed on a semiconductor substrate,such as silicon, germanium, silicon-germanium alloy, gallium arsenide,gallium nitride, etc. In some cases, the substrate is a semiconductorwafer. In other cases, the substrate may be a silicon-on-insulator (SOI)substrate, such as silicon-on-glass (SOG) or silicon-on-sapphire (SOP),or epitaxial layers of semiconductor materials on another substrate. Theconductivity of the substrate, or sub-regions of the substrate, may becontrolled through doping using various chemical species including, butnot limited to, phosphorous, boron, or arsenic. Doping may be performedduring the initial formation or growth of the substrate, byion-implantation, or by any other doping means.

A switching component or a transistor discussed herein may represent afield-effect transistor (FET) and comprise a three terminal deviceincluding a source, drain, and gate. The terminals may be connected toother electronic elements through conductive materials, e.g., metals.The source and drain may be conductive and may comprise a heavily-doped,e.g., degenerate, semiconductor region. The source and drain may beseparated by a lightly-doped semiconductor region or channel. If thechannel is n-type (e.g., majority carriers are signals), then the FETmay be referred to as a n-type FET. If the channel is p-type (e.g.,majority carriers are holes), then the FET may be referred to as ap-type FET. The channel may be capped by an insulating gate oxide. Thechannel conductivity may be controlled by applying a voltage to thegate. For example, applying a positive voltage or negative voltage to ann-type FET or a p-type FET, respectively, may result in the channelbecoming conductive. A transistor may be “on” or “activated” when avoltage greater than or equal to the transistor's threshold voltage isapplied to the transistor gate. The transistor may be “off” or“deactivated” when a voltage less than the transistor's thresholdvoltage is applied to the transistor gate.

The description set forth herein, in connection with the appendeddrawings, describes example configurations and does not represent allthe examples that may be implemented or that are within the scope of theclaims. The term “exemplary” used herein means “serving as an example,instance, or illustration,” and not “preferred” or “advantageous overother examples.” The detailed description includes specific details toproviding an understanding of the described techniques. Thesetechniques, however, may be practiced without these specific details. Insome instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in blockdiagram form to avoid obscuring the concepts of the described examples.

In the appended figures, similar components or features may have thesame reference label. Further, various components of the same type maybe distinguished by following the reference label by a dash and a secondlabel that distinguishes among the similar components. If just the firstreference label is used in the specification, the description isapplicable to any one of the similar components having the same firstreference label irrespective of the second reference label.

Information and signals described herein may be represented using any ofa variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data,instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chipsthat may be referenced throughout the above description may berepresented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magneticfields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combinationthereof.

The various illustrative blocks and modules described in connection withthe disclosure herein may be implemented or performed with ageneral-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA or other programmablelogic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardwarecomponents, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functionsdescribed herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor,but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor,controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also beimplemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combinationof a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or moremicroprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suchconfiguration).

The functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, softwareexecuted by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. Ifimplemented in software executed by a processor, the functions may bestored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on acomputer-readable medium. Other examples and implementations are withinthe scope of the disclosure and appended claims. For example, due to thenature of software, functions described above can be implemented usingsoftware executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, orcombinations of any of these. Features implementing functions may alsobe physically located at various positions, including being distributedsuch that portions of functions are implemented at different physicallocations. Also, as used herein, including in the claims, “or” as usedin a list of items (for example, a list of items prefaced by a phrasesuch as “at least one of” or “one or more of”) indicates an inclusivelist such that, for example, a list of at least one of A, B, or C meansA or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C). Also, asused herein, the phrase “based on” shall not be construed as a referenceto a closed set of conditions. For example, an exemplary step that isdescribed as “based on condition A” may be based on both a condition Aand a condition B without departing from the scope of the presentdisclosure. In other words, as used herein, the phrase “based on” shallbe construed in the same manner as the phrase “based at least in parton.”

Computer-readable media includes both non-transitory computer storagemedia and communication media including any medium that facilitatestransfer of a computer program from one place to another. Anon-transitory storage medium may be any available medium that can beaccessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. By way ofexample, and not limitation, non-transitory computer-readable media cancomprise RAM, ROM, electrically erasable programmable read only memory(EEPROM), compact disk (CD) ROM or other optical disk storage, magneticdisk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any othernon-transitory medium that can be used to carry or store desired programcode means in the form of instructions or data structures and that canbe accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer, or ageneral-purpose or special-purpose processor. Also, any connection isproperly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the softwareis transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using acoaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line(DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave,then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digitalsubscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio,and microwave are included in the definition of medium. Disk and disc,as used herein, include CD, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatiledisc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray disc where disks usually reproducedata magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers.Combinations of the above are also included within the scope ofcomputer-readable media.

The description herein is provided to enable a person skilled in the artto make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosurewill be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principlesdefined herein may be applied to other variations without departing fromthe scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not limited to theexamples and designs described herein, but is to be accorded thebroadest scope consistent with the principles and novel featuresdisclosed herein.

1. (canceled)
 2. A method, comprising: identifying, within trim datastored by a set of fuses on a die, a fuse header comprising a set of oneor more subfields, the set of one or more subfields includinginformation mapping a plurality of fuse addresses to a plurality ofregister addresses; and copying the trim data from the set of fuses to aset of registers coupled with the set of fuses, wherein the trim data iscopied beginning with a first register of the set of registers that isindicated by at least one register start address subfield from the setof one or more subfields.
 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:identifying, within the at least one register start address subfield, astarting register address that corresponds to the first register of theset of registers, wherein the trim data is copied from a first fuse ofthe set of fuses to the first register based at least in part on thestarting register address.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein thestarting register address indicates that the first register follows oneor more other registers having register addresses preceding the startingregister address.
 5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:refraining from copying the trim data to the one or more other registershaving the register addresses preceding the starting register address.6. The method of claim 2, further comprising: identifying, within thetrim data, a second fuse header different from the fuse header andcomprising a second set of one or more subfields, the second fuse headerbeing associated with a second fuse group, wherein the fuse header isassociated with a first fuse group that is different from the secondfuse group.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the second set of one ormore subfields includes at least one additional register start addresssubfield, the method further comprising: identifying, within the atleast one additional register start address subfield, a second startingregister address that corresponds to a second register of the set ofregisters, the second register being different from the first register;and copying additional trim data beginning with the second registerbased at least in part on the second starting register address.
 8. Themethod of claim 6, wherein copying the trim data comprises: copying afirst subset of trim data from a first subset of fuses that areassociated with the fuse header based at least in part on the fuseheader being associated with the first fuse group; and copying a secondsubset of trim data from a second subset of fuses that are associatedwith the second fuse header based at least in part on the second fuseheader being associated with the second fuse group.
 9. The method ofclaim 6, further comprising: identifying at least one fuse address countsubfield from the set of one or more subfields, the at least one fuseaddress count subfield indicating a quantity of fuses from the set offuses that are associated with the first fuse group, wherein copying thetrim data is based at least in part on the at least one fuse addresscount subfield.
 10. The method of claim 2, further comprising:identifying at least one fuse address count subfield from the set of oneor more subfields, wherein copying the trim data is based at least inpart on the at least one fuse address count subfield.
 11. The method ofclaim 2, further comprising: determining that a threshold quantity oftrim data has been copied based at least in part on at least one fuseaddress count subfield; and ending the copying of the trim data based atleast in part on determining that the threshold quantity of trim datahas been copied.
 12. The method of claim 2, further comprising:identifying at least one skip option subfield from the set of one ormore subfields, the at least one skip option subfield indicating whetherone or more fuse addresses associated with the fuse header are to beskipped when copying the trim data, wherein copying the trim data isbased at least in part on the at least one skip option subfield.
 13. Themethod of claim 2, wherein copying the trim data comprises: sequentiallycopying the trim data from the set of fuses beginning with the firstregister of the set of registers.
 14. The method of claim 2, wherein thefuse header comprises 25 bits of the trim data stored by the set ofregisters.
 15. A method, comprising: identifying a set of fuses that arecoupled with a set of registers, each fuse of the set of fuses storingtrim data available to be copied to the set of registers; identifyingone or more fuse headers as part of the trim data, each fuse header ofthe one or more fuse headers comprising one or more subfields thatindicate how the trim data is to be copied to the set of registers; andcopying a subset of the trim data available to be copied to the set ofregisters in accordance with the one or more fuse headers.
 16. Themethod of claim 15, further comprising: identifying, within each fuseheader, a fuse address count subfield, or a skip option subfield, or afuse identity subfield, or a register start address subfield, or anycombination thereof, wherein copying the subset of the trim data isbased at least in part on the fuse address count subfield, or the skipoption subfield, or the fuse identity subfield, or the register startaddress subfield, or any combination thereof.
 17. The method of claim16, wherein copying the subset of the trim data comprises: identifying afirst fuse group based at least in part on a presence of the fuseidentity subfield within a first fuse header; identifying a second fusegroup to be skipped based at least in part on a presence of the skipoption subfield within a second fuse header different from the firstfuse header, wherein the first fuse group and the second fuse groupcomprise the set of fuses; and copying the trim data from the first fusegroup and skipping the second fuse group based at least in part on thepresence of the fuse identity subfield and the presence of the skipoption subfield.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the fuse identitysubfield of the first fuse header comprises a bit value that indicatesthat the trim data from the first fuse group is to be copied.
 19. Acontroller, comprising: a processor, memory in electronic communicationwith the processor; and instructions stored in the memory and executableby the processor to cause the controller to: identify, within trim datastored by a set of fuses on a die, a fuse header comprising a set of oneor more subfields, the set of one or more subfields includinginformation mapping a plurality of fuse addresses to a plurality ofregister addresses; and copy the trim data from the set of fuses to aset of registers coupled with the set of fuses, wherein the trim data iscopied beginning with a first register of the set of registers that isindicated by at least one register start address subfield from the setof one or more subfields.
 20. The controller of claim 19, wherein theinstructions are further executable by the processor to cause thecontroller to: identify, within the at least one register start addresssubfield, a starting register address that corresponds to the firstregister of the set of registers, wherein the trim data is copied from afirst fuse of the set of fuses to the first register based at least inpart on the starting register address.
 21. The controller of claim 19,wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor tocause the controller to: identify, within the trim data, a second fuseheader different from the fuse header and comprising a second set of oneor more subfields, the second fuse header being associated with a secondfuse group, wherein the fuse header is associated with a first fusegroup that is different from the second fuse group.